Far North Queensland firefighters on alert as heatwave fuels vegetation fires

Scorching temperatures and dry patches have sparked 11 vegetation fires from Mackay to Cape York, with crews warning incoming storms could trigger even more blazes.

Romel Becinon from Cairns North on a lunch break Photographer: Nuno Avendano

Queensland firefighters are keeping a close eye on the Far North as dry conditions and lightning have sparked a series of vegetation fires along the coast.

Inspector Andrew Weir, Northern Regional Duty Manager with the Rural Fire Service, said lightning was the most common cause for a wildfire.

“The majority, we think, are started by lightning,” he said.

“We also get some fires start along roads due to hot material coming off parts of brake shoes off trucks, that’s a pretty common one.”

Queensland Fire Department controlling vegetation fires across Queensland. Picture: QFD.

Even though forecast storms may deliver much-needed rain, they could also trigger more fires this week.

“It’s a love-it, hate-it type scenario,” Inspector Weir said.

“We’d love to see the rain, however storms have lightning, and until we get enough rain to wet the vegetation down, we are likely to see more fires.”

He also warned against assuming a single downpour makes conditions “safe.”

“There is a feeling that once it’s rained, you won’t get fires. That is absolutely not true,” he said.

“I’ve seen 50 millimetres of rain and still been fighting fire.”

Firefighters were called to to blaze at Craiglie on Sunday morning. Picture: Supplied

Even though storms expected to roll in on Sunday afternoon and Monday may deliver much-needed rain, Inspector Weir said they could also trigger more fires. Picture: BOM.

On the weekend, crews were monitoring 11 vegetation fires between Mackay and The Cape, with most burning in coastal areas including Yarrabah, Mareeba, Cooktown and the Atherton Tablelands.

Firefighters also extinguished a fire near the Captain Cook Highway and Ferero Road, Craiglie on Sunday morning. Only a small number were inland.

This comes as a severe heatwave pushed daytime temperatures into the low–high 30s this weekend and kept overnight temperatures in the high teens to mid‑20s across much of northern Queensland.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued warnings for the North Tropical Coast and Tablelands, Herbert and Lower Burdekin, Central Coast and Whitsundays, as well as Capricornia and Wide Bay and Burnett.

Locations most likely to have felt the brunt of the heat include Cooktown, Hope Vale, Ingham, Bundaberg, Gladstone, Rockhampton and Yeppoon.

An emergency alert was issued for Craiglie and Port Douglas residents at 3am on Sunday. Picture: Supplied

Crews will remain in “monitoring mode,” using satellite hotspot detection, radar and local reports to spot new outbreaks quickly. With the wet season approaching, conditions are expected to gradually improve, but not immediately.

Inspector Weir has been a volunteer firefighter for 15 years. Earlier this year, the Rural Fire Service created a new role — Northern Regional Duty Manager — to provide high-level monitoring and coordination across the region.

“They recognised there was a requirement for somebody to monitor, at a very high level, what’s going on across the region,” he said.

“If a fire starts to escalate, we get in front of it and rally resources to contain it as quickly as possible.”

About 30 to 40 volunteer teams were on the ground across the weekend, with strike teams ready if needed.

For residents, he said the message was simple: stay alert, report smoke quickly, and don’t assume that rain means the fire threat is over.

Originally published as Far North Queensland firefighters on alert as heatwave fuels vegetation fires